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Battlefield 3 Back To Karkand will feature 4 maps, 3 vehicles, and 10 new weapons, but there are some other new features that aren’t part of EA’s regular pitch: improved destruction and Conquest Assault. Back To Karkand maps such as Strike At Karkand will feature improved destruction where buildings can be destroyed to a point where only the skeleton remains, according to new info. We’ve previously seen before and after pics of Karkand’s destruction, where the destruction looked a lot more extensive than what we’re used to in Battlefield 3.

In addition to improved destruction, Battlefield 3 ships with a new game mode called Conquest Assault, which hails back from Battlefield 2, but back then it was called just “Conquest”. In the Conquest Assault mode, one team starts with all of the flags and the other team has to attack and advance throughout the map — if you’ve played Strike At Karkand in Battlefield 2, you’ll know exactly what it is (and the tense fighting that happens at the first flag).

Back To Karkand will be released in December, most likely around Christmas time. PlayStation 3 owners will get it one week earlier, though. For more on Back to Karkand, check out the latest trailer and screenshots.

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With the reveal of the recent gameplay videos of Back to Karkand, EA also managed to release three new screenshots which give us a closer, more high-resolution look of the Gulf of Oman map. Now all we need are some screenshots of Wake Island and Sharqi Peninsula — the two other maps in Back to Karkand.

BF3Blog’s Marcelo, a.k.a Critical Chocolate, returns this week with a video guide to jets in Battlefield 3. He touches up on the basics of flying, on the weapons, the countermeasures, and most importantly, tips and tricks on dog fights and how to successfully attack ground forces as well. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more Battlefield 3 videos!

One of the nagging complaints about Battlefield 3′s multiplayer were the flashlights, or tactical lights as they’re known, which seemed far to powerful and blinding regardless of the circumstances they were used in. DICE has listened to the feedback, and flashlights will be adjusted in an upcoming patch.

DICE’s Alan Kertz has provided some comparison screenshots, showing the flashlight effect before and after, and the change is dramatic — you can now actually see the person behind the flashlight.

Gaming outfit GameSpot has posted two new videos showing off some Battlefield 3 Back to Karkand gameplay, with videos of the maps Strike At Karkand and Gulf of Oman being played on the PlayStation 3. It looks quite impressive, bringing back that “desert” and “middle eastern” feeling we’ve missed in Battlefield 3. The video above shows Strike at Karkand, the Gulf of Oman video is after the break. READ ON »

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“Please people don’t post comments such as “Like if you…” or “Everyone Like if…” because these comments are annoying and useless since they have nothing to do with the subject — you have to earn thumbs up.” — Evanx125

The animal rights movement, represented by PETA, have issued a press release in Germany criticizing Battlefield 3 over “animal cruelty”. Specifically, PETA points out a singleplayer mission (mission 3) in Battlefield 3 where the player has to stab a rat, and toss it away.

PETA states that the killing of even a virtual animal could inspire young people to do such acts in real life. According to PETA, recent animal cruelty cases in Germany, where youngsters engaged in animal cruelty, were inspired by video games and movies. As PETA puts it in the press release:

The realistic computer game “Battlefield 3″ treats animals in a sadistic manner. The game gives players the option to kill a rat with a combat knife in the back in order to then lift it by its tail, then toss it away. Killing virtual animals can have a brutalizing effect on the young male target audience. There have been repeated cases of animal cruelty in Germany, where young people kill animals. Inspiration behind these acts often came from movies and computer games.

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